Kadushin’s design isn’t actually workable–yet. (REPEAT: Do NOT try to put this little bear head in your uterus!) But, like Jenna at Jezebel, I’m excited to see the IUD getting the attention.

I became an IUD evangelist about a day after I got my Mirena, which was–not at all coincidentally–around the time the cramping from the insertion stopped. Over the past two years, my fondness for that magical little “T” in my uterus has only grown with each day that I spend forgetting that it’s there. The thrill of not getting my period every month and not having that mean I’m pregnant truly never gets old.

Of course, there are pros and cons to any form of birth control and the IUD isn’t for everyone. But it’s definitely due for a comeback. While the percentage of American contraception users with an IUD has reached 5.5% in recent years (up from just 1.3% back in 1995), the numbers still seriously lag behind much of the rest of the world.

Last month, Amanda Marcotte speculated that IUDs may see a spike in popularity thanks to no co-pay insurance coverage of birth control. In the U.S., an IUD can cost more than $1,000 out-of-pocket–a sum that is pretty cheap when divided over 5 or 10 years but really damn expensive upfront. Removing that cost barrier for some women will be a good first step. Cheap and accessible IUDs for everyone in the future? Even better.

Atlanta, GA

Maya Dusenbery is an Executive Director in charge of Editorial at Feministing. Maya has previously worked at NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health and was a fellow at Mother Jones magazine. She graduated with a B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. A Minnesota native, she currently lives, writes, edits, and bakes bread in Atlanta, Georgia.

Maya Dusenbery is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Editorial.

Colorado has a very effective program that provides IUDs to poor and uninsured women at no or low cost. The public health department estimates it has helped cut the teen unintended pregnancy rate by 40 percent and saved the state more than $20 million in Medicaid funding.

Republican state Senator Kevin Lundberg, however, thinks he knows more than all these public health officials with their “poor science.” He explained that he’s opposing an effort to renew the program because IUDs are abortifacients (they’re not) that can work by “stopping a small child from implanting” (um, what?) He went on: “Protecting life is a very big issue. In my mind, that’s what government is all about, and to protect the ...

Colorado has a very effective program that provides IUDs to poor and uninsured women at no or low cost. The public health department estimates it has helped cut the teen unintended pregnancy rate by 40 percent and ...

It’s no secret that some anti-choice extremists believe, counter to the scientific facts, that some forms of birth control actually cause abortion. But traditionally mainstream anti-choice groups have tended to stay away from such claims.

For example, many have sat out the fights over personhood amendments, likely out of a recognition that, as state electorates have shown timeandtime again, Americans do not actually want their birth control criminalized. However, as a new Guttmacher policy brief explains, these same groups are happy to conflate contraception and abortion in order to undermine access to both when they think they can get away with it:

Yet, these same mainstream antiabortion groups have not shied away from asserting in ...

It’s no secret that some anti-choice extremists believe, counter to the scientific facts, that some forms of birth control actually cause abortion. But traditionally mainstream anti-choice groups have tended to stay away from such claims.

So you’ve heard about the IUD (intrauterine device). You’ve heard some of your friends say, “I love it! No pills, no periods, no fuss!” You’ve had other friends say “Ew… something foreign in my body? No way!” As an obstetrician/gynecologist, I hear a lot of truths, but also a lot of misconceptions about this birth control method. So what is the real deal with IUDs?

There are three types of IUDs on the market right now. The Mirena and Skyla contain progestin, a very low dose birth control hormone. The Paragard uses copper (which is toxic to sperm) instead of hormones to prevent pregnancy. You can talk to ...

Ed. note: This piece was originally published on the Community site.

So you’ve heard about the IUD (intrauterine device). You’ve heard some of your friends say, “I love it! No pills, no periods, no fuss!” You’ve ...